


'Where Everybody Knows Your Name...'

by lady_meatball



Series: Thanksgiving in Boston [9]
Category: American Actor RPF, Chris Evans (Actor) RPF
Genre: Domestic!Evans, F/M, Fluff, K C & the Sunshine Band, K&C, Sick Character, Sweet Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-09-21 02:08:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9527138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lady_meatball/pseuds/lady_meatball
Summary: Saturday dawns in Boston, and Chris’ plans of showing Katie around Downtown are thwarted, but he manages to get her out of the hotel room for dinner and time spent in the Commons.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings- None. Fluffy.

  


 

[Originally posted by perigilpin](https://tmblr.co/ZPvN1ylly5x1)

Waking to an eerie silence, I slowly opened my eyes; I didn’t hear the sounds of the kids being up and about, or any of the rest of the adults either. There was no furry body book ending me…and after a week of all of those things, it was strange to be in near complete silence, the only sounds I could hear were Chris’ soft exhales and the muted sound of cars outside.

Yawning, I willed my eyes to focus as I looked to the light streaming in from the window in the seating room; Chris hadn’t drawn the curtains before coming to bed like I had asked him to. The early morning was grey and cold from what I could see, meaning it had snowed while we hunkered down and slept.

[Originally posted by gangrelated](https://tmblr.co/Z0_Tlw2D86VfK)

Groaning, I turned to face the sleeping form behind me. Chris just barely stirred, his arm tightening around me, drawing me closer before relaxing once more. Burrowing close, I pulled the blankets up, wrapping us in a cocoon of warmth before slipping back to sleep eventually, my head tucked under Chris’ chin, and my fingers drawing soft, small patterns in his chest hair.

* * *

Chris woke to find Katie curled up against him, her hand partially covering her face, and the covers pulled up high, making them both begin to sweat. Pushing the blankets off him, he kept Katie mostly covered, but needed air to cool him down; extracting himself as gently as possible, Chris withdrew from the bed to make his way to the bathroom.

“Come back to bed.” Katie’s muffled and croaky voice called from the blankets, stopping him in his tracks; he was one step from the restroom when he turned back to answer her.

“I have to piss…” He smiled sleepily back at the lump she made in the covers, only her hand and the lopsided top knot of her dark hair visible to him.

“Bed. Lazy. Sleep-in…”

Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, Chris blew out a snort of amusement.

“Kay…we _did_ sleep-in. It’s almost 1. Come on…get up, we were going to do touristy shit today.” He said, trying to rouse her but she pulled the blankets closer and more tightly around herself.

“I’m cold, babe.” She said, pushing the covers away from her face to show her tired eyes. “I’m cold and tired. Let me sleep a little bit longer, _please_?” Her voice was a whine of desperation, and it hurt his heart listening to her practically begging for more sleep. 

“Okay. Go back to sleep, I’ll be right back.”Chris nodded, watching Katie pull his pillow to her, snuggling into it and closing her eyes, falling back to sleep at a drop of a pin. This was new ground, something he’d never seen from her before except the night before she left Atlanta when she thought she was coming down with a super bug, and earlier this last week when she shut down after telling him what had happened. ‘Sick’ Katie was an entirely different beast from what he was used to seeing and he wasn’t sure how to handle this new situation he was presented with.

Turning back to the urgent matter at hand of emptying his bladder, Chris crossed into the bathroom, flipping the light and pushing the door almost closed.

He emerged a few minutes later, relieved, hands washed and his teeth brushed; he walked back to the bed, lifting the covers and climbing in. Pulling Katie to him, she tensed in her sleep before snuggling into his body.

“ _Mmm_ …warm.” She breathed as she settled.

“You feeling okay?” Chris asked, pulling the covers around them and tucking her in to keep their shared heat. He pressed his lips to her forehead, curious to know if she had a fever, but she was cool to the touch; wrapping his arm around her, he relaxed as best he could with the tiny stone of worry sitting in his gut.

“Not really…” Katie admitted softly, her hand slowly caressing the dusting of hair covering his chest and torso next to her face. “I was like this last week…tired and cold, hit with waves of fatigue after the most trivial shit…if I wasn’t crying my eyes out, I was sleeping with an electric blanket because I couldn’t get warm enough. Kinda queasy, spent a lot of my time in the bathroom…”

“Babe, are you anemic? How much blood did you lose?” Chris asked, concerned and worried. “So did end up catching the Super Flu, huh?”

“No, I’m not. At least I don’t think I am…my doctor never said anything about me being anemic-” Katie yawned as her legs stretched, muffled pops and snaps sounding from under the covers at the foot of the bed. “And as for how much blood…I told you, it was pretty gruesome. Dr. Hildebrandt said what I described was pretty normal for what happened, but it seemed like a lot to me. As for the flu…yeah, I did. It wasn’t pretty.”

“I think you need to call your doctor…when are you supposed to go back and see her?”

“Between my birthday and Christmas..that’s before my next cycle is supposed to start if everything goes how it’s supposed to.” She explained. Her voice wasn’t bordering on sleep now, it was still touched with a tinge of tiredness, but she was awake and in the conversation.

“Call her and ask if you having these waves of extreme fatigue are normal…-” Chris asked, voice edging toward pleading, “-see if there’s anything you can do or take to help get through the next few weeks since you insist on giving two weeks notice…”

“Yes, I do…my bosses deserve notice, and I can’t just drop deuces and walk out! I’m not that type of person Chris…”

“What are you going to tell them? What excuse are you gonna give for leaving?”

Katie was quiet for a moment, thinking about her answer.

“Well, I don’t really need an excuse for the salon…Rita knows we’re together.” Katie admitted, adding, “As for Starbucks…well, most of the kids I work with have an _idea_ that we’re together, but they don’t really know for certain. I’ll probably just tell my boss that an amazing opportunity came up that I can’t say no to. That’s not a lie or an excuse, just a little vague on the details…”

“That sounds like it could be our motto… _’just a little vague on the details’_!” Chris chuckled, rubbing his hands over the naked flesh of Katie’s arm and back under the blankets.

Resting his cheek on her head, Chris stared blankly across the room, out the french doors and at the wall across from him.

“It snowed.” He pointed out softly. “I don’t know how much, but the way the sky looks through the window out there, it’s sticking and we’re in for more…are you gonna want to go out at all?”

“Maybe later. We’ll see how I feel in a little bit. Until then..hold me? Make up for last week and make me feel better?” She asked softly, her fingers back to tracing designs in the dusting of hair, her breath adding to the sensation as it tickled over his skin.

“Whatever you want…I just wish I could do more.” Chris answered, moving his face to kiss her forehead once more before settling his cheek back to the top of her skull, his tiny movement of nuzzling into her hair soothing to him as well as her.

“You already have…you’re here.” Katie sighed, and Chris felt her drift back to sleep for as long as she needed.

[Originally posted by lovershub](https://tmblr.co/Z43mrh2Fnx4Mn)

* * *

“Babe…baaaaaaaabe…time to awake up.”

Cracking my eyes open, I was greeted by the sight of Chris’ face pressed close to mine.

“Kay, it’s almost 5 and my stomach’s growling…if I’m hungry, I know you’re hungry! Come on, let’s get dressed and go get dinner.”

“Two words…” I smiled, rubbing my eyes. “Room service.”

“I mean, yeah, we _could_ do that, but I think there’s somewhere you’ll be alright with braving the snow to get to…and it’s not very far away either…”

“How far?” I asked as yawn struck. I was feeling more energized than earlier, but the fatigue was still there, waiting to strike when I did too much too soon after this last bout. The previous week had been terrible, I could open my eyes and be hit with the overwhelming miasma of dark, depressive emotions, and paired with the fifty foot tidal wave of crushing exhaustion, I was amazed I had been able to do the most basic tasks of human function, like use the restroom, make something passable to feed myself…but when the need to use the bathroom hit with as much force and urgency as it had thanks to the super flu, I found someway to muster enough energy to make it to the toilet before disaster struck.

“Just on the other side of the Gardens…I thought we could take a walk through the park on our way, so you could see the statues. Is that gonna be too far?” Chris asked, concerned as he pulled back and his worried face came into focus.

“It might be, but you’re strong…you’ll give me a piggyback ride if I need it, won’t you?” I teased. Chris’ lopsided grin and small nod of his head told me he would if I needed him to. “Okay, let’s get dressed and go get something to eat.”

* * *

Once again it was dusk when I looked out at the park across the street, this time better prepared for the cold with the accessories bought on our walk to the restaurant the night before. The snow that had fallen wasn’t nearly as bad as what I had pictured in my head, and really the only snow that stuck and hadn’t been melted away or been destroyed by traffic on the street was what covered the grass in a thin layer.

I had bundled up in my clothes, with a layer of Chris’ flannel between my thermal long sleeve shirt and the sweatshirt I had pulled on; two layers of socks had my leather boots fitting snug on my feet. Chris was nowhere near as bundled up as I was, in a Henley, another of his flannel’s and topped with his jacket, proclaiming this was ‘Mild by Boston standards for Thanksgiving weekend’; I thought he was an idiot and had told him to put another layer of clothes on, but he ignored my request, dragging me down and out of the front doors of the hotel.

The Public Garden wasn’t quite deserted, but the few other people we saw had been other couples in their late twenties and early to mid thirties, out on romantic strolls in the twilight and lamp light. The couples we passed had been so lost in their own little worlds, tangled together that we didn’t worry about our own linked stature being noticed, though Chris did pull his cap lower to aid in masking his face.

Walking through the park, Chris pointed out the different statues and monuments; pointing to the quiet space to our left, he told me that was the Remembrance Garden in honor of those lost in 9/11. I tugged him to the fork that led over to the small open space, needing to pay respects. Chris had seemed to understand, not speaking while we both took a silent moment before he reached for me once more and we continued on our way back to the main paths.

“I’ll never forget that day.” I had told him, speaking softly and somberly.

“Me either, babe. Me either…”

Soon after, we came upon the George Washington statue, pausing a few minutes to soak in the gravity of what had become of the Americas due to this man and the vision he held for our land once out of British rule. I snapped my pictures, and Chris led me on, pulling me to more secluded area near the waterfront.

“This is one of my favorite spots…look familiar?” Chris asked, a smile lifting his handsome face.

Shaking my head, I told him ‘no’.

“ _ **WHAT?!?!**_ Are you telling me that you’ve _**never**_ seen Good Will Hunting?” I continued shaking my head from side to side. Chris looked affronted and horrified as he asked, “Blasphemy! I’m rectifying this situation…what other movies haven’t you seen about my sweet home turf?”

“Ummm…I’ve seen What’s Your Number, obviously-” I told him after a moment of thinking hard. Holding a hand up once I cleared it from the pocket of my commandeered canvas jacket to begin counting on as I listed the movies that stuck out in my mind as to what I had seen. “-Ted, bit’s and pieces of Ted 2, The Town…Jeremy was _FANTASTIC_ in that! Ummm…Legally Blonde…”

Chris shook his head in wide sweeps, letting his disappointment be known.

“Baaaaaabe…”

“What?” I laughed. “I’ve never been a real big fan of Affleck and Damon…so sue me!”

“Well, once I sit you down and we watch Good Will Hunting, you’ll recognize this bench…this is a very important bench!” He told me, reaching down to brush the little bit of snow that still occupied it before taking a seat and tugging on my hand to join him. After a moment of silence, he draped his arm around my shoulders, telling me,  “This is the Robin Williams bench.”

[Originally posted by maryjosez](https://tmblr.co/Z3IzJw1_UKD0f)

“Another day I’ll never forget…I cried and cried and cried that day he passed away.” I confessed. “The world definitely dimmed with him not in it. It was like a member of the family died, I think everyone of a certain age grew up with him…Hook, Aladdin, Fern Gully, Flubber, Mrs. Doubtfire…my heart still hurts for him.”

“Mine too, babe. Mine too.”

* * *

Rounding the rest of the lake, we eventually got to the far side of the Gardens; stepping back onto the brick paved sidewalk, I hadn’t noticed the sign at first, but the closer we had gotten to crossing the street, the larger the gold letters on the familiar logo sign above the wrought iron fence grew, and I soon recognized where we were as he stopped in front of the stairwell that led down to the basement bar.

Lifting my face, I turned to Chris, a huge smile spreading across it.

“Are we really going to Cheers? Like seriously?” I asked excitedly, my hand squeezing his arm through the thick jacket sleeve.

“ _Sometimes you wanna go…_ ” He smiled, starting to sing, and I joined in.

“ _Where every-baaaady knows your naaaaaaaame!_ ”

[Originally posted by missanniehall](https://tmblr.co/Zz64dwLLox3X)

Walking down the stairs, I led the charge. I opened the door to the pub, and a wave of noise hit me square in the chest.

“It’s too busy Chris…you’re gonna get spotted.” I told him, trying to hide my disappointment. Chris reached around me, pulling the door wider so he could stick his head in to peer about.

“I don’t care, I’m hungry, and I want a beer. Come on…let’s see if we can sit at the bah, maybe at Norm’s chair? Or Cliff’s?”

“Frasier’s spot or we’re sitting in a booth.” I grinned, feeling happiness bubble up at his risk of being seen for me to enjoy living out a meal in a pub I grew up watching with my parents, and eventually switching over to the spin off set back on the West Coast in Fraser. He knew I loved that pompous ol’ dandy dearly after we got into a debate about which show from the 90’s had been better, Seinfeld or Frasier; he stuck to his guns and proclaimed the New York based show was superior while I clung to my fussy psychiatrist brothers from Seattle…finally agreeing to disagree and our opposite coast upbringing influenced our senses of humor in comedy television. I didn’t get Seinfeld, but it didn’t effect my love for Chris.

He had miraculously found us a booth, tucked away in the back, and we got cozy. Our waiter, Jon, was an older man, balding and cantankerous looking, but he had a marshmallow filling inside. He took our orders, bringing back tall pilsners from the tap shortly after putting in our order for burgers and appetizers.

Chris lifted his beer, pulling a long draw on the glass; he licked the foam mustache left on his beard before saying with a twinkle in his eyes, “A bacon bleu cheese burger with extra grilled onions…you really must not want me to kiss you tonight.”

“ _Excuse me_ , but you ordered onions on your burger too! They’ll cancel each other out…and if they don’t, we brush our teeth or just drink more!” I laughed.

* * *

Dinner had been good, for a restaurant inspired by a television show. Service had been prompt, efficient, and friendly. We took care of the bill, with Chris telling me to pick out a souvenir or two from their display merchandise. I left the proud owner of a branded long sleeved shirt I would proudly bundle up in to sleep and a new ‘distressed’ hat as well as a few magnets.

We walked along Beacon Street, the Public Garden’s on our right as we headed east. Crossing the little alley streets, Chris led me into the ‘Bux on the corner of Beacon and Charles for something hot to drink to battle the cold air in the open night; the sky had cleared in the last few hours and without the cloud cover, it was becoming noticeably more frigid.

Red cups in hand, we started back to the hotel, crossing into the Commons, only we continued to head east and not south-west.

“Where you taking me, stud muffin?” I asked playfully, hugging his arm tighter as I blew into the lid of my cup to cool it enough to sip.

“To the Frog Pond. You like frogs, you’re from Frogville U.S.A.…” He teased, but I protested his jest, bumping him with my body and an indignant little frown. “Just kidding…I thought I’d be romantic and take you skating.”

“ _Skating_? As in… _ice skating_?” I asked. He nodded, giving me a little grin as he sipped his coffee.

“Chris…I can’t skate.” I told him.

“Sure you can! It’s easy, it’s just like rollah skating and blading, you’re just on the ice!”

“No…Chris, I don’t skate. Like _period_.” I told him, emphasizing the last. “I had a bad experience growing up and…it kind of soured the activity for me. I tried roller skating once in middle school, and ice skating while in high school…I spent more time on my ass than on my skates if that tells you anything…”

“You just didn’t have the right teacher to help you enjoy it.” He grinned. “I won’t let you fall, I promise! And I’ll even see if they have the training bahs if you want… _please_? Do you know how long it’s been since I skated on Frog Pond?” I shook my head no. “Man…I think I was in middle school! My crush let me hold her hand…come skate with me?”

I couldn’t say no when he went full ‘golden retriever puppy’ with the sad eyes and pouty bottom lip, so I took a deep breath, sighing before I told him, “Okay, but I can’t promise that you won’t end up ass over tea kettle, laying on the ice. I tend to take people down with me when I eat it…”

* * *

I had had one foot on the ice and was bringing the other out when I lost balance and pfffft…feet went out from under me, knocking into his legs and we both went crashing down in pile of limbs. He got back on his feet, helping me back to the low wall to stand and lean there.

[Originally posted by iglovequotes](https://tmblr.co/ZIONaq218ju2n)

“You weren’t kidding…you really can’t stay up, can you?” Chris asked, laughing. 

_“I told you!_ ”

“It’s okay…I think it’s kinda cute you can’t skate. It’s endearing.” He smiled before stepping off the ice to snag a set of training bars in the shape of a molded seal. He swung the plastic covered metal over the fence, setting it in front of me with a flourish; the next thing I knew, he was back on the ice, skating out to turn in a wide arc before coming to a halt at my side.

_“Show off.”_ I called him; he only smiled. “It’s not endearing, Chris, it’s embarrassing!”

“To-mate-o, to-mat-o…” he said with playful shrug. “It’s cute.”

“I’m almost 30 years old, and I have to use the stupid seal, because I’m afraid of falling on my ass…that’s not cute. It’s embarrassing…but I’ll do it for you.” I told him.

The ice skating rink was busy, having only opened earlier that week. Chris kept me company as I bent hunched over the kiddie sized support while I got used to the movements and how best to distribute my weight as to not fall over…eventually I bucked up enough courage to abandon my bar, and let Chris be my living support as he skated backwards, pulling me around the oval.

[Originally posted by universexy](https://tmblr.co/ZVuN2u1Z7Xpi8)

We laughed at the muttered curses I gave when I felt my feet trying to slip out from underneath me, the way I flailed my arms when I was about to fall before Chris caught me…we laughed and joked about just how terrible I was and how this was a bad idea even though it was turning out to be a memorable ‘date’.

[Originally posted by australiassouthernbelle](https://tmblr.co/Z5yNDt1Z8PDVY)

Pulling our boots back on after an hour in the chilly autumn night, we decided to call it an evening and head back to the hotel; I was winded and felt like lead had settled in my arms and legs after the exertion on the ice, and Chris’ face told me he noticed I was tired once again.

The walk through the Commons was pleasant, but cold and somewhat crowded. Chris kept his head bowed as we weaved through people headed to and from the skating rink and parking garage; eventually the crowds thinned out as we got closer to the baseball fields and tennis court. On our left, a bandstand offered shelter and a bit of a windbreak for the smokers huddled together under its dome.

“We have a bandstand…” I mused, spotting it with the billow of smoke drafting out from under the roof. Chris turned his face to look at the building in question before turning his eyes to me, curious, so I went on, explaining, “…back in Murphys, in the park, we’ve got this beautiful gazebo bandstand. It’s got lattice around the bottom, and it’s white with dark green accents, with bench seats around the inside…it’s just off from the creek, and in the summer, local musicians will play free concerts. If they brought amps, we could catch bits and pieces from our backyard.”

“That sounds magical…” He smiled.

“The creek ran about 30 feet behind our back fence too. It was wonderful, in the spring, summer and early autumn, I’d leave my back window open and listen to it, and the frogs croaking and chirping at night. The only downside was the mosquitoes.” I smiled at the memories. I’d told Chris stories of growing up in the tiny little town in the Sierra Nevada mountains, but with the knowledge we were getting married and looking to start a family, this new piece of information felt different because it wasn’t just me reliving glimpses of the past to help him know me better…it was the first glimpse of where I came from, where I’d be the one pointing out the interesting little pieces of information and history. He came from a part of the country that had hosted revolution and the very birth of our country, and with it came a long and well documented history; I came from the Wild West, with our fickle fortunes, gunslingers and gold pans…our history wasn’t nearly as long winded, but it was no less interesting, and it was something I was proud of, just like Chris was proud of his Boston heritage.

“I can’t wait to go visit…you said your aunt and Gram still live up there?”

Nodding, I affirmed his question.

“She’s gonna be 90 this July…” I told him, turning to look at him with a smile. The way his hat lifted told me of his impressed state. “She’s gonna be 90, she’s got three old men at the Senior Center still chasing her around, asking her to marry them…all of them roughly ten to fifteen years her junior mind you… _AND_ she’s still chasing after man strippers!” I said, laughing at her antics. Chris’ belly laugh ran out next to me.

“I’m not surprised in the least…” He chuckled, pulling his hand from mine to wrap his arm around my shoulders, holding me close.

“Why? What are you not surprised about?” I asked, curious as to what he meant with that statement.

“That’s she a firecracker…she _IS_ your grandmother after all! You gotta get it from someone!” Chris explained, laughing heartily again.

“She’d love to meet you…she tells me every week.” I said, laughing at her somewhat passive method of dropping hints. The old woman had guilt and passive aggressive confrontation down to an art that was for sure, but I was the lucky grandchild that was immune from those practices since she knew I’d do it right back to her out of spite…to say we were alike would have been like saying the winter was cold, or the ocean was wet.

“When’s her birthday?” Chris asked as we reached the crosswalk, waiting for our chance to walk; the Four Seasons loomed overhead, less than a hundred feet away.

“July 24th.” I told him, trying to keep up with wide strides as we finished the last stretch and completed the circuit, back on the sidewalk that led to the front doors of the hotel.

“So right after Comic Con…I’ll see if I can keep that week open, maybe we can take a mini vacation and go see your part of the world?”

“Oh, Chris…she’d love that!” I exclaimed.

“I mean, it’s her _90th birthday_ …it’s gonna be a big deal, and most of your family’s gonna be there right? Kill two birds with one stone, meet all of them and celebrate Gram’s big day!”

“I love you…” I couldn’t help the wide smile I wore as we rounded the corner into valet and headed for the doors. Chris reached for the handle, holding it open for me to pass through first.

“I know.” He winked, his free hand landing a swat to what was exposed of my ass from the hem of his jacket.

* * *

That night was spent bundled up in the king sized bed of the hotel suite, watching movies on basic cable without really paying much attention to what was happening on the screen. Chris insisted Katie jump in the shower to warm up after so much time spent out in the cold; she hadn’t put up much fight, and took her time in the hot water. Room service was called later on for dessert and they kicked back in the bed watching television, talking over their sweets.

The sound of his phone buzzing on the nightstand drew Chris’ attention; checking the screen, he saw a text from Sebastian attached to a clip of Mackie acting like a fool. Leaning over he showed Katie the short video, smiling as they watched it together.

“Seb says ‘hi’ by the way.” He added, typing back a response.

“Tell him I said ‘hi’.” Katie said mid yawn. Chris glanced over at her, watching as she stowed the emptied plate on the nightstand and burrowed down under the covers, her body facing his, and the blankets pulled high around her head; only her face was left exposed.

The conversation went on for a few minutes, as Sebastian gave Chris a quick update as to what had gone on there in Atlanta while he was back home in Massachusetts, giving him the heads up for an intense schedule in the next two weeks before he was wrapped. Katie laid in her mountain of blankets, staring blankly at the television, lost in her own thoughts.

“Why don’t you like Seb?”Chris asked, settling back against his pillows once he stowed his phone on the nightstand and plugged it back in to charge.

“What?” Katie asked, confused as she turned her face from the screen as she flipped through the channels.

“You don’t seem all that fond of him, Kay…I’m just curious, because he’s such a great guy, and everybody loves him! I don’t think I’ve ever come across a person that has a bad word to say about him…” Chris asked, genuinely curious, and needing to understand why his fiancee hadn’t clicked with his good friend…Sebastian had been warm, friendly and welcoming in Atlanta, but the only time Katie had seemed to relax and be herself around him was when she was beyond drunk at the bar, sitting on his shoulders and instructing his friend to carry out evasive maneuvers to avoid Chris as he tried to call an end to their evening.

“Chris…” she sighed, shifting to sit up; turning to face him as she folded her legs into lotus position, she rested her elbows on her knees. “I don’t _‘not like’_ Sebastian…like you said, he’s a complete and total doll…”

“Then what is it? Do you have feelings for him?”

Katie chuckled, hanging her head.

“You do!”

Leaning back, Katie reached to the stand on her side of the hotel bed, grabbing her phone.

“I like him, but it’s not like that, Chris.” Katie reassured him as she unlocked her phone, concentrating as she typed out something, her thumb scrolling over the screen as she searched for something, glancing up to give him a small smile of embarrassment. “I promise, I really **do** like him, but it’s hard to be around him because-” she held her phone out for him to take, her face pointed at the screen before her finger directed him to look there as well once he took the device from her hand, explaining, “-well, darling Seb, especially when he’s in peek Bucky form with the long black hair and jacked like he is now…he looks like A.J., the guy in the troupe back in Vegas…”

“ _Holy shit_! Are you _sure_ this isn’t a picture of Seb?” Chris asked incredulously. The guy staring down the camera looked so much like his friend, it made him do a double take; glancing up, he saw Katie sheepishly shake her head ‘no’. His forehead lifted high as he looked back at the screen before handing it back to her when her hand reached out. She clicked out of the app to go in search of other pictures, handing the phone back to Chris. This photo showed her standing next to this hulking beast from Down Under, Katie was nearly a head shorter than him, showing Chris just how huge this guy was. “ _This_ … _ **THIS**_ is the fahker that I’m following up? How fahking tall is this asshole? Babe you sure know how to fahking pick ‘um…”

“You said it, he’s an asshole…an incredible massive asshole.” She admitted, taking her phone back to clear out the pictures and lock her phone back up. “So, it’s not that I _don’t_ like Seb…it’s that he looks too much like A.J. and it just takes me by surprise…I adore Sebastian! He’s a complete doll, but it’s just too much…the muscles, the hair, the scruff…if I look too quickly, I think it’s A.J. and I panic. Has Seb said something? Is that why you brought it up?”

Chris nodded gently, at a loss for words after seeing a picture of the yahoo that single handedly caused so much damage to Katie’s psyche, making her so gun shy and doubting her every move in the very beginning of their relationship.

“He mentioned he felt like you avoided him in Atlanta, at least until you were smashed off your ass at the bah…he’s not gonna fahking believe me when I tell him he’s got an Australian dopplegangah…Jezus, I can’t get over how much they look a like! He looks like he could be Seb’s oldah brothah!” Chris admitted, shaking his head in disbelief; glancing back at Katie, he couldn’t help but ask once more, “How fahking big is this guy, Kay? You look tiny next to him!”

“He’s about 6’4”…so just a bit taller than Hemsworth, but his shoulders are wider, so he’s massive. Last I heard, he was benching upwards of 750 pounds, and that was almost two years ago…so he’s probably close to a thousand by now. The outside’s gorgeous, but the inside…” Katie sighed, shaking her head bitterly, “Even if he had ever shown me the time of day, I never could have been happy, I see that now…you showed me that.”

Feeling a smile crack his face, Chris leaned over, reaching for her. She returned his smile, leaning in to meet him part way for a kiss; breaking apart, Chris couldn’t stop himself from saying on a hearty and self deprecating laugh, “But come on…how can you go from **_THAT_** -” he asked, pointing at the picture on my phone before hooking his thumb back into his own chest, “-to ** _this_**? That’s like going from the Owners box to sitting in the nosebleeds at Gillette…”

Her sad and embarrassed smile melted away as a genuine grin replaced it, her hands moving to cup the sides of his face tenderly as she kissed him gently before answering with, “Naw…I _upgraded_ when I got you. I was chasing after Gaston, and got my Beast…he’s ridiculously handsome, but he’s also got a shit personality, and you know just how well _that_ combination turned out for Gaston…”

“So I’m the Beast, huh? You callin’ me ugly now?” Chris asked, chuckling; he tugged her arms, pulling her to climb into his lap, wrapping his arms around her affectionately as she settled in his lap, essentially straddling him..

“You get pretty furry when you put your mind to it…” Katie teased. “You’re not ugly, Chris, and you know it…but you’re a different kind of handsome compared to A.J.” Katie grinned, her arms folded behind his neck, explaining, “He’s the ‘macho Alpha’ that is beat into our heads as the gold standard for what masculinity should be…you’re a bigger threat, with your ‘All American Guy Next Door’ good looks and fun loving personality paired with an unashamed sensitivity… _he’s_ the guy that stops people in their tracks just from walking past, while _you’re_ the guy fathers feel comfortable leaving in charge of making sure their daughters are going to get home safe, but you end up upstairs, sneaking into their room and getting in their pants… _you’re_ the fox in the hen house! _You’re_ the dangerous one… _you’re_ the one I want for the rest of my life.”

Chris fought the smile threatening to split his face in two as she tried to explain the differences before him and that asshole back in Vegas, but he lost that battle.

“Flatterer.” He teased, stretching towards her as he puckered his lips, asking for a kiss. Sitting back once they broke apart, Chris spoke up, telling her, “I have to admit, he’s a handsome fahker…you got pretty good taste, babe, but if I ever meet this guy, I’m gonna kick his ass. He deserves it for being the biggest fahking idiot and treating you the way he did…regardless of the fact you’re mine now.”

“It’s kinda sexy when you get all riled up like this…”

“Get used to it, ‘cause I’m always like this when it comes to you, Tinkerbell.”

* * *

It was sometime later when Chris looked over at the clock on the nightstand when the sounds of Katie snoring ever so quietly against his chest reached his ears, he found it wasn’t even 11 PM. He struggled to stay awake through the week’s recap and analysis of the different games while texting back and forth with Sebastian, Mackie, Renner and the others back on the set in Georgia, and finally he threw in the towel, clicking off the television, and settling in for the night. 

[Originally posted by sunshineyandcheerful](https://tmblr.co/ZYALuj235Teg1)


End file.
